


and isn't this exactly where you'd like me

by almostfamousgrl



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-28
Updated: 2014-05-28
Packaged: 2018-01-26 20:45:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1701956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almostfamousgrl/pseuds/almostfamousgrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Fitz dares Skye to hire a male escort, and that male escort is Grant Ward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	and isn't this exactly where you'd like me

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a three sentence fic meme and somehow became this.
> 
> Juliana is a queen and read so many drafts of this so if it's any good, it is because of her.

The bar is crowded and full of members of the suit wearing after work crowd. Skye knows she doesn’t fit in with them, despite many of them working for the same company. She downs the rest of her vodka tonic, looking around at the rather unimpressive talent available to her.

“I desperately need to get laid,” Skye slurs, toying with her empty glass on the sticky bar. She thinks about getting another one, but she’s out of cash and pretty hammered, so she decides against it.

“I like how you’re so willing to share,” Fitz chimes in from next to her, tossing back another Scotch like he was built for it; which being Scottish, he actually was. The bastard could drink her under the table like no one else she’d ever met.

Fitz works with her at Hammond Development, a huge company that dabbled in everything from mechanical engineering to pharmaceuticals, and made a shit ton of money doing it. Fitz was her partner, and he does all the complicated mechanical bits of their projects, while she dicks around on her laptop writing the code that would run them. They make a pretty stellar team.

“You know I could help you with that, if you’d just ask…” Fitz says with a laugh. She eyes him and his crooked grin and thinks for the millionth time, that she would totally hit that if she had a chance. He was only half joking after all. But she couldn’t do that.

Fitz, whether he would admit it or not was desperately in love with Jemma Simmons, a cute little scientist who worked two levels above them in the chem lab. She was a sweet girl. Skye’s current focus at work was getting the two of them to pull their heads out of their asses and start dating.

So Fitz was out of the question. She pushes his arm in response to his comment. “I still can’t imagine you actually have trouble getting laid.” Fitz rambles on.

“Maybe I should just hire a hooker. Break out of my slump.” She sighs, getting the bartenders attention and ordering another vodka tonic. Fuck it. She deserves to drown her sorrows in alcohol.

Fitz looks at her oddly. “Let’s do it.”

“What?” She raises an eyebrow at him.

“Let’s get you a hooker!” He shouts it and causes some of the other patrons to give him weird looks. He ignores them completely and stares at Skye. He has that determined look in his eyes that makes Skye want to immediately down her freshly refilled drink.

“Seriously? Dude its illegal and probably gross…” Skye makes a face at Fitz and he just shakes his head.

“No, we can do this right. Get you someone good. Someone hot.” Skye can’t help but spit a laugh out at the way he says it. “I dare you.” Skye freezes and looks over at him.

Skye has never turned down a dare. And she isn’t about to start now.

That’s how they end up back at Fitz’s apartment, both more than a little drunk and hunched over his laptop, scrolling through pictures on some male escort website.

“Boo who the hell becomes a male escort without a six-pack,” Skye sneers, throwing a pretzel at the monitor.

“Oi! Don’t take it out on the gear,” Fitz slurs indignantly before clicking through to the next page.

He’s the winner.

He goes by the name John which seems a little obviously fake, but whatever. His stats boast that he’s 6’2”, got brown hair and pretty dark eyes. He’s also ripped, and every bit the muscular dude-bro she’d expect to see a lot more of on this kind of site.

“Him. I could do him. Or I could pay him to do me,” she nods, elbowing Fitz. She looks at him. He nods approvingly.

“Excellent choice,” Fitz says, looking seriously at the monitor. Skye giggles and he glares at her. “What? I can appreciate a man on an aesthetic level thank you very much…” he mumbles out, clicking through the details of how to go about making an appointment.

They pass out before they manage to actually call the agency after several attempts, during one of which Skye in a fit of panic, threw the phone across the room when someone answered.

It’s probably for the best. She makes Fitz call in the morning, giggling the whole time he tries to explain that “No, it’s not for me, yes I promise.”

The date is set for 9pm that evening. Skye nearly chokes at how much it costs, but decides that it is worth it just to see Fitz eat his words. He’s still betting that she will chicken out at the last minute.

She’s determined to prove him wrong.

 

\-------

 

“What the hell do you wear to meet a hooker?” Skye sighs, tearing through her own closet. Jemma sits perched on her bed, glass of wine in hand, looking excited.

“Well I don’t think you need to dress up…isn’t that the point?” Skye shoots her a look. “But I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to look nice.” She corrects, taking a sip.

“I want to look nice, but not like I’m trying too hard. You know?” Skye says mostly to herself, digging past cocktail dresses and blazers and all her work clothes. Finally she settles on a black pencil skirt and a soft pink blouse. It is absolutely not something she’d normally wear. But this isn’t exactly a normal situation.

Jemma nods at her approvingly. She wishes her luck and tells her that she and Fitz are going to a bar nearby. “So that we can be there for backup if things…if you decide you don’t like him.”

Skye resists smiling. The two of them going out has nothing to do with being backup for her. But she’s excited that Fitz finally got the guts up to ask Simmons out. Even under these circumstances.

“Oh and these are for you.” She reaches into her purse and pulls out a handful of condoms. Skye bites her lip and tries not to laugh. Jemma earnestly pushes them into her hands. “Because you can never be too safe.” Skye nods seriously, tucking them into her own purse.

She puts a hand on Jemma’s shoulder. “I appreciate it.” Jemma grins from ear to ear, looking immensely proud of herself.

 

\-------

 

Skye has him meet her at a hotel bar downtown. Something about screwing a hooker in her own apartment seemed too weird to deal with, so she’d made reservations at an upscale joint near the office.

She perches at the bar, nervously tapping her foot, and ordering a martini. It’s not her usual drink but she thinks it probably looks classy, which is what she’s going for here. She checks her watch. 9pm, on the dot.

“Skye?” A voice from behind her asks. At first she’s startled, but she remembered she had to send in a picture so that he would know it was the right person. Can’t be propositioning strangers apparently. She takes another sip of her drink and a deep breath before turning to face him.

It’s him all right. He’s wearing a suit and a soft smile, eyebrow raised in question. She swallows hard and nods, extending a hand to him. “Yeah that’s me. Hi. Hello.” Stop rambling.

He shakes her hand, and she can’t help but notice that his giant ass hands completely engulf hers. She thinks, at least, that’s promising. “Nice to meet you.” He nods and smiles at her.

“Likewise. Can I um…drink? Do you want a drink?” She stumbles over her words again and mentally kicks herself.

“Sure.” He orders a whiskey on the rocks, and somehow that just seems too perfect, like this guy is a walking tough guy stereotype. His drink comes and Skye watches him, probably a little too intently.

She downs the rest of her drink for courage. “So. Come here often?” It’s a cheesy line and she plays it off as a joke, but it’s the best she can come up with in the moment. She’s rewarded with a laugh on his part.

He’s every bit as gorgeous as the pictures made him out to be. But the pictures, where he was all scowling and smoldering for the camera, didn’t catch the nice way he smiles, and how it makes his eyes crinkle at the edges.

“Actually yes. This is a pretty popular place to come for a date. You ever stayed here before?” His tone is comfortable and casual and she’s thankful that at least he doesn’t seem bothered by her painful awkwardness.

“No. I’m actually a bit more of a pizza and beer kind of girl than upscale bars. This just somehow seemed…appropriate.” She’s not entirely sure why she tells him any of that.

“I’m the same way honestly. But people like to make an evening of things. So I get it,” he nods and takes another drink. “Next time though, feel free to suggest pizza and beer.” She scoffs.

“Next time? You’re confident,” she raises an eyebrow at him. He smiles at her again and raises his hands in surrender.

“Guess we’ll see,” is all he says and he finishes his drink. Suddenly she can’t stand to sit down here any longer. She has to get this started or she’s going to chicken out and make an idiot of herself.

“Why don’t we head upstairs then?” She suggests, looking up at him. He grins and stands, offering her a hand. She takes it and smiles back at him. “Follow me,” she keeps his hand in hers, dragging him behind her.

The elevator ride is silent. He looks completely comfortable in it. Skye works to mirror that easy confidence, instead of looking like she’s so nervous she’s shaking. She looks at him again. He’s really fucking beautiful, and she thinks that if nothing else, that will make this worthwhile.

“So…” she starts once they’re in the room, toying with the hem of her skirt. “I’m going to be honest and say I don’t really know how this works.” He smiles and she feels a little weak in the knees. Get it together woman, she scolds herself.

“That’s pretty normal. We can have another drink, if that makes you more comfortable. Or we can just…get started.” Skye huffs a little laugh out through her nose.

“Are there like rules? No kissing on the mouth or something?” He laughs again, and it’s warm and good-natured. She grins at him, taking a couple steps towards him.

“Only if you want there to be,” she squares her shoulders and takes two more steps towards him. She finds herself looking up at him, only now realizing exactly how tall he is.

“I can do this then?” She questions, standing up on her tiptoes and kissing him, quick and gentle, before sinking back down to the floor. He grins down at her.

“That’s encouraged,” he says, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Feeling bold, Skye grabs his stupid skinny tie in her hand and pulls him down to her, kissing him hard.

His hands settle on her waist, pulling her in close. His lips are soft and he tastes like whiskey and he’s a damn good kisser. He knows just how to work his mouth against hers, just when to make use of his tongue and never use too much. She’d almost be content to just kiss him all night.

But his arms wrap around her tighter and she finds herself winding her arms around his neck, pushing closer to him so that their bodies are flush against each other. He nips at her lower lip and she groans a little, almost embarrassed by her own reaction.

He smiles into the kiss, sliding his hands down over her hips and ass and on to her thighs. He’s insistent, but not pushy and Skye feels confident that as soon as she made any indication that she wanted him to slow down he’d stop in a heartbeat.

Not that she wants him to because before she knows it he’s picking her up, her legs wrapping around his waist instinctively. She’s at a much better angle like this to kiss him, without him having to lean down so far. He pulls back from her lips to breathe for a moment.

“Good?” He asks, a little breathless.

“Good,” she smiles at him, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair with the sole intention of mussing it up a little. She imagines bedhead will be a good look on him.

He takes to pressing kisses to her neck and she tips her head back to give him better access. Her hands can’t stop playing with his hair as he does. He carries her over towards the bed, setting her down on it gently. She crawls into the center and pulls him with her.

They keep kissing as she unbuttons his shirt and pulls off his tie so that both end up on the floor with his jacket. As soon as they are, her hands can’t seem to stop touching his goddamn washboard abs. Seriously. He looks photo shopped.

He kisses down her neck and collarbone, and stops only briefly to pull her blouse off over her head. She lifts her hips and shimmies out of her skirt as well. He pulls back and just looks at her for a moment. She almost blushes.

“What?” It comes out harsher than she intends it to. He meets her eyes again, looking embarrassed.

“Nothing. You’re just…you’re gorgeous,” he says. Something about it sounds completely genuine. She’s not sure what to make of that. So instead she hauls him up to her lips again, kissing him hard. He stops her again for a moment, staying close. “So what do you want to do?”

“Is this the Q&A portion of the evening?” She looks at him. “What do you think?” He huffs out a laugh.

“Yes. The whole point of this is you can ask for whatever you want. Anything you’ve always wanted to try.” He speaks softly and he’s close enough that she can nearly feel his lips moving against hers.

She thinks for a moment. Really this wasn’t so much about fulfilling some fantasy she thought she couldn’t get otherwise. It had just been a stupid dare gone way too far. And really, all she has her mind on at the moment, is some good ole’ fashioned mind blowing sex with a super hot guy.

“Let’s keep it simple,” she says, grinding her hips up against him, and smiling when he groans and closes his eyes.

“Works for me.” He kisses her again and and her hands go for his waistband, fumbling with his belt and zipper until she can push his slacks and briefs down off his hips for him to kick off. He kisses down her chest, reaching underneath her to unhook her bra and pull it off, tossing it aside. He replaces it with his hands and his mouth, kissing and sucking at the newly exposed skin.

He slides her panties down her legs almost delicately and she’s squirming like she can’t stand to wait another second and oh god she’s about to have sex with a hooker, and it is nothing like she expected.

She stops and remembers something important, given the circumstances. “Condom?” she asks, breathless and impatient to get what feels to be a fairly impressive length inside of her.

He nods and reaches for his pants and produces one. Of course he’d have one. This is his job after all. She thinks about the twelve condoms in her purse from Jemma and almost laughs. It was a still a nice gesture.

Pretty much every other thought disappears from her head when he leans over her again and she feels him pressing up against her. She wraps her legs around his hips again, urging him forward. “Ready?”

“Stop asking me questions and fuck me already,” she growls and he grins and steadies himself for a moment, before thrusting into her.

Skye’s head falls back on the pillows and she digs her nails into his shoulders because fuck, she was right about his size. But it’s good, and he draws it out, pushing in as slowly as he can imagine so she feels every inch.

He bottoms out and she’s panting into his mouth already. “How’s that?” He smiles a little and she hits him on the shoulder.

“Shut up. C’mon.” She kind of likes that he pushes back, that he’s willing to make fun of her, argue with her. She kind of likes him. She shakes the thoughts out of her head and focuses on the feeling of him inside her.

He pulls back and fucks in hard, kissing her as he does. She moans into his mouth and pushes her hips up to meet him. They keep up that pace for a while, she’s not sure how, long, but she’s getting closer and closer.

Like he can read her goddamn mind, he sneaks a hand between them and presses a finger against her clit, working it expertly. Suddenly she’s moaning embarrassingly loud and grinding into him as hard as she can.

When she comes it is every cliché in the book, she sees stars, she practically blacks out as he keeps fucking her through it, past it, holding off himself until the very last moment.

She falls back, still holding on to his shoulders as she catches her breath. “Holy shit,” he laughs. She feels him slip out of her and she looks at him, watching him as he takes care of the condom. He looks even better now, sweaty and breathing hard with exertion. She also gets a prime view of his spectacular ass.

He lies down next to her and she leans over and presses a soft kiss to his lips. He returns it, smiling.

They exchange a few lazy kisses before she’s having trouble keeping her hands to herself again, touching his abs, his biceps, anything she can reach. She’s almost trying to resist.

“You know we don’t have to be done right? You’ve got time,” he mumbles against her mouth. She looks down and notices that; they could in fact go again already. Impressive. Skye makes a noise that’s downright close to purring and she kisses him again, open mouthed and needy.

She slides on top of him, settling so she’s perched on his hips, her hands on his chest. He looks up at her and there’s something in his eyes like he’s...impressed by her or something. It’s weird. He’s the professional here.

She leans down and kisses him softer this time, taking her time to really appreciate how plush his lips are and the way that the longer she makes him wait, the more his hands start to wander, up and over her thighs and her hips, back up to her chest, flicking his thumbs over her nipples and making her pant into his mouth.

As much as she’d like to go on teasing him she’s getting impatient herself so she pushes back from him, holding him to the mattress with her hand on his chest, and bracing herself. She reaches into his pants pocket again and finds another condom. He came prepared.

She tears it open and rolls it smoothly over him and lifts her hips, one hand on his chest and the other on his length. She lines it up and sinks down quickly, taking him all in one stroke. She bites her lip and lets her head fall back.

He groans and settles his hands on her hips, helping to ease her up and down. She’s thankful because her thighs were already starting to burn. She doesn’t feel like going slow so she fucks down hard and fast, rolling her hips and moaning when he reaches all the best spots inside of her.

Skye rests her hands on his chest and presses down slow and hard and feels a second orgasm rip through her. He moans from beneath as she clenches around him. He grips her hips a little harder, thrusting up into her. His fingers dig into her hips hard enough to bruise as he holds her steady and comes, throwing his head back.

She watches the way his eyebrows come together and the clench of his jaw as he does and she gets the urge to kiss every part of him she can reach. Instead she delicately lifts herself off him, and rolls to the side.

They’re both pretty worn out, so she lies next to him with her head on his chest. It finally seems like the right time to ask the question that has been on her mind all week. “So…what’s it like to do this? Do you feel like…used?” It’s probably inappropriate.

“It’s just…wish fulfillment for most people. I don’t really mind,” he says shrugging. “It’s all about a fantasy.”

“Weird. What’s it like knowing you are literally the perfect man?” Skye laughs, running her fingers over his abs, as it to punctuate her point.

“It pays the bills.” She thinks he wants to say more but he holds himself back. She doesn’t push the issue.

“Well you’re pretty damn good at it, I’ll tell you that.” He perks back up at that, turning and smiling at her. He checks his watch where it is resting on the nightstand.

“Unfortunately, I believe your time is just about up.” He gets up and starts pulling his clothes back on. He hesitates before pulling on his shirt and looks at Skye. She peers up at him, not bothering with her own clothes.

“I had fun too. And that’s not always true. So…ya know…thanks.” He says awkwardly. Skye salutes him, grinning.

She hears the door shut as he leaves and she sighs, brushing her hair out of her face. She curls up on her side and thinks about calling Fitz to gloat about completing his dare. But she decides against it, instead flipping on the TV.

She falls asleep thinking about his dumb smile.

 

\-------

 

It was never part of the plan to call him again.

It was expensive. She does well for herself, working for corporate America, but not to the point where she can be dropping that kind of cash on the regular.

Still she finds herself calling the agency again. Herself this time, without informing Fitz of her plans. Booking another appointment. Staring woefully at her credit card as she rattles off the numbers.

She finds herself dressed up again, heart pounding and waiting for him to show up.

She gave him a room number this time so he can come directly to her. She feels like an awkward tenth grader on her first date. Which is stupid. She’s more nervous than she was the first time.

She answers the door. He’s not as dressed up this time, instead wearing a black t-shirt and dark jeans. He still looks amazing, the bastard.

“You look nice.” He says, stepping past her into the room.

“Thanks. You too.” She responds coolly, shutting the door. “It’s good to see you again.” She smiles at him and shrugs, like it’s not really a big deal. He grins back at her.

“Drink?” She asks, heading over to the mini bar. He nods and she rummages around and finds enough to pour them two vodka tonics. He’s her date, he can deal with her drink.

She sips at her drink and hands him his, perching herself on the edge of the bed. He sits down next to her. There’s awkwardness between them that wasn’t there before, and Skye starts to wonder if it was a mistake.

“I have to say I wasn’t expecting to…to hear from you again.” He says, shifting in his seat.

“And why is that?” Skye questions, raising her eyebrows at him.

“Well you just…you don’t seem like you’d…like you’d need me.” He clears his throat and takes another drink. Skye laughs.

“I think that’s a compliment?” He nods.

“It is. I mean you just seem like you could…do well enough on your own.” He nods, sagely, as though he’s an expert on such things.

“Well maybe I can. Maybe you’re just very good at your job.” Skye says, trying to look coy and sexy as she does. He laughs. Great.

“I think that’s a compliment.” He reaches over and cups her cheek with his hand, leaning down to kiss her. She leans up into it, grinning against his lips. It’s even better this time, like he remembered everything she likes, everything that would make her gasp against his mouth.

She ends up straddling him, seated comfortably on his lap with his hands on her hips. They kiss for a while, her grinding down against him to make him moan into her mouth. Eventually they pause to breathe a little. She’s still in his lap, hands cupping his jaw.

“I think I do have a request this time.” He smiles and raises an eyebrow.

“Whatever you want,” he responds, holding back and waiting for her to direct him. She steels herself because saying it out loud like a request seems strange and awkward. But he looks so earnest and interested.

“I want you to go down on me,” she squeaks out and he grins. In the scope of things, she imagines it isn’t a strange request at all. It just feels a little strange to ask for it so bluntly. But he is more than happy to oblige her request.

He lays her down on the bed, peeling off her dress and settling himself between her legs. She props herself up on her elbows to watch him. He’s smirking at her, looking all too pleased with himself, considering he hasn’t done anything yet.

He makes her come twice just with his fingers and his tongue. She’s never, ever, been with a dude who was that good at eating her out. She honestly considers just letting him stay down there for the rest of their time together.

But out of sympathy for his jaw, she pulls him up and shifts around until she’s on top of him again. She rides him hard, hands braced on his chest and feeling the way his muscles contract as he pushes up into her.

He comes hard and she feels him twitching inside of her, and that sends her over the edge for orgasm number three, which is fucking ridiculously good.

That wears them both out, and they pull apart, laughing and smiling, pleasantly exhausted and satisfied.

She’s lying comfortably curled into his side when her phone rings. “Fuck.” She reaches for it and answers. It’s someone from work. Yelling. A lot. She stands up and springs out of bed.

“Crap I have to go. Something went wrong at work. They need me to come in and find the bug in the code.” She swears and starts pulling her clothes back on. He stands himself, starting to gather his own clothes. “Take your time, the room is paid for, sorry I have to rush out like this.” She gets dressed and stands and stares at him, jeans slung low on his hips, still utterly shirtless. More than that, he has this puppy dog look of disappointment on his face.

It’s almost painful to leave him behind. “I’m so sorry.” He shrugs, and waves her out.

Awkwardly she turns on her heel and moves towards the door, silently cursing herself for even having those thoughts about him.

“Grant!” He suddenly blurts out. Skye pauses from the doorway and raises an eyebrow at him. “My name. That’s my name. The agency makes me use the alias. I’ve always thought its kind of dumb so…call me Grant.”

A smile spreads across Skye’s face then. She walks over and extends her hand to him. He reaches out and shakes it. “Nice to officially meet you Grant.”

“Likewise.” She knows she still has to leave but she leans up and kisses his cheek softly, before turning and scrambling out the door.

What the hell was that? There was absolutely no reason for her to have done that. That’s the kind of kiss you give your boyfriend when his parents are watching not the kind of kiss you give leaving a hooker in a hotel room.

She was losing it.

 

\-------

 

She decides to see him again. It’s like she’s acting on instinct at this point, not even considering the time or money it’s costing her. She just knows she wants to see him again. Instead of wasting even more of her money on a hotel room though, she invites Grant over to her own apartment.

She’s nervous when he knocks, and even more nervous after actually letting him in. At this point, neither of them is dressing up for these encounters, but he still somehow looks amazing in jeans and an old t-shirt.

He looks around her apartment, picking up random knick knacks on her shelves.

“You have a record player?” He says, looking at it and her vinyl collection on one of the bookshelves.

“Yeah. I’ve always liked the sound better than anything else,” she says, leaning on the wall and watching him.

“Hipster.” Grant scoffs, and Skye rolls her eyes at him. He moves over and picks up one of her old My Little Pony figures. “Pinkie Pie.” He says quietly to himself like he’s remembering something.

“Do you know the names of the My Little Ponies?” Skye asks, eyes going wide. Grant looks up and blushes.

“I don’t…I mean…shut up. My little brother thought they were cool. We played with them sometimes,” Skye beams at him gleefully.

“Do you know all their names? Do you still have any? Can you do the voices? Can-“ as she talks he puts the figure down and walks over to her, cutting her off by kissing her hard. She laughs a little into it, but brings a hand up to his cheek and kisses him back.

He fucks her up against the wall and again in the bed until they’re both too tired to do anything other than lay there.

Which is of course when she hears a key in the door.

Fitz bursts in, already talking as he does. “Skye you will never believe what finally happened, I almost don’t believe it myself I came straight over to talk to you. Simmons and I…” he stops when he gets to where he can see the bed and turns away quickly. “For fucks sake Skye you could have shouted that you had someone here.”

“You didn’t exactly give me a chance Fitz.” Skye groans, scrambling up to pull on her clothes and tossing Grant his pants. “Grant, this is Fitz, my very intrusive friend who is going to lose his spare key privileges.”

Fitz peeks behind him and finds them clothed enough for his taste so he strides over to Grant, looking him up and down. “He’s the hooker right?” Fitz says, extending a hand to him.

“Fitz!” Skye throws a slipper at Fitz that he dodges effortlessly while he shakes Grant’s hand.

“Good to meet you,” Grant coughs out. He hesitates but shakes Fitz’s hand anyway. He hasn’t managed to pull on a shirt yet and she’s never seen him look quite so uncomfortable. If it wasn’t so pathetically awkward, she might laugh.

Fitz takes notice of that, looking him up and down. “You too. Wow your pictures weren’t shopped at all were they.” He notes, awkwardly slapping Grant’s biceps. Grant looks even more taken aback for a moment.

“Uh no. No they weren’t.” Skye puts her hand up to her face. Grant looks around helplessly for his shirt, but Skye remembers pulling it off somewhere long before they made it to the bedroom, so he isn’t going to have much luck.

“Fitz. I love you. Get out.” Fitz tears his eyes away from Grant’s abs long enough to look at her and grin. “Whatever you and Simmons got up to today, you can tell me about it later.”

“Alright alright. Call me when you’re done with this one and we’ll go get drinks.” With that Fitz turns on his heel and leaves the apartment without another word. Skye looks at Grant.

“I’m so sorry about that. He has trouble with boundaries.” Grant, who had been watching Fitz go, snaps his head to look at her.

“No uh….no it’s fine. You’d be surprised the amount of times things like that happen actually. I’m just happy he wasn’t your boyfriend or something,” he says running a hand through his hair and laughing stiffly.

“He’s definitely not,” she says, maybe a little too emphatically. “Apparently he and Simmons are together anyway now.” She can’t wait to hear about how that happened. “Which is good. They’re good for each other.” Grant smiles.

They say their goodbyes and he kisses her at the door, slow and lingering. She touches her lips after he goes, and swears, slamming the door shut. She’s out of control.

 

\-------

 

They hook up again.

She’s starting to really question her judgment and how she chooses to spend her money. Even Fitzsimmons, as she’s taken to calling them because they are basically forming into one adorable, puppy eyed entity, thinks she’s losing it a little bit.

This time she decides to make a bold move. They are lying in bed, and Grant is telling her some story about a client who found an incredibly creative use of a pint of ice cream. He stops though, when she leans over him, reaching for the end table.

“What are you doing?” Grant looks at her oddly as she snatches his phone up.

“Giving you my phone number. And texting myself so I have yours,” she smiles a little without looking up at him. “That okay?”

He’s silent and her heart rate speeds up a little bit thinking maybe she has overstepped whatever delicate balance they’ve struck with each other. “Yeah that’s fine,” he says finally. Skye grins and puts his phone back on the nightstand, leaning over him to do so.

He catches her arm as it comes back and holds her there, hovering over him. She grins and leans down and kisses him softly. She realizes it’s overly affectionate for their situation, but she can’t help it. She rests her head on his chest, tracing her fingers over his side.

“I have to go soon,” he says quietly. She nods.

“Yeah I know.” They lay there in silence. Finally Skye can’t take it. “Maybe next time you can just call me. We can hang out…not in bed.” She furrows her eyebrows and mentally kicks herself. That sounds so stupid.

He’s quiet for a minute. “It’s against policy.”

“Yeah. Of course.” She falls quiet again.

After that, they start texting each other. Skye starts things off.

_So is texting okay?_

It takes him a worrying about of time to respond.

_I think texting would be fine._

_Awesome. Have you been out today? Because its a million degrees out. I think I’m melting._

_It is July._

_Yes thank you I’m aware. I’m also aware that it’s shitty._

At first that’s all it is, forced and snarky conversations about dumb shit like the weather or the traffic on the way over. But they get a little more comfortable.

_So what’d you do at work today. Because I spend three hours debugging code and you have to have something more interesting on your plate._

_You really want to know about my...other clients?_

_The crazy ones, absolutely._

He tells her all about one client who just wanted to watch him eat ice cream for an hour and a half and she almost has coffee coming out of her nose in the middle of an afternoon meeting.

Later in the day Simmons almost has an aneurysm because of the hickey on her neck which she apparently managed to miss in the morning. Swearing she covers it with her collar as best she can.

_I have a bruise on my neck, Mr. Overly Aggressive_

_…oops?_

_Don’t pretend you’re sorry we both know you aren’t. Wait does this count as sexting? Do I get charged for that?_

_Yes. You owe me for putting up with your shitty jokes._

_Oh he fights back!_

They keep texting after that, sometimes flirty, sometimes stupid. And at some point they start talking about their lives. She complains about work.

_This project is killing me. I need approximately 1000 drinks to get through this meeting. My boss is on my ass._

_If it helps, I’m sore and chafed in spots you don’t want to know about._

_….saying that makes me want to know about it._

_Everyone has bad days at the office, all I’m saying._

_Fine you win the ‘who got ridden harder by their boss today’ contest._

_Cute._

The exchanges always go something like that, teasing and laughing at each other. He talks about his apartment, which is nice, She tells him about Fitzsimmons and how cute they are. He tells her about his friends, and the bar they hang out at.

_Fitzsimmons is hanging out in my office again. They’re so cute I want to say aww and also throw up in my mouth a little._

_I’m going to have to meet this Simmons that Fitz was so infatuated with._

_You know you can if you want?_

_Maybe someday._

It’s noncommittal. But she’s a little excited anyway. 

 

\-------

 

“What the hell is wrong with me,” Skye groans, falling down and burying her face in her pillows. Jemma is sitting on the bed next to her, her legs crossed daintily underneath her.

“Why don’t you just tell him how you’re feeling?” Jemma says, staring at Skye with those big earnest looking eyes.

“Because it’s against policy. And not only that but it’s actually ridiculous. I don’t have real feelings for him.” She couldn’t. He was a hooker. This wasn’t an 80s movie. That’s not how these things work.

“Well you guys have already…broken quite a few policies. He cares about you. Its obvious,” she says sagely. Skye shakes her head.

“He’s being paid to,” she says, turning to look up at the ceiling.

“Oh that’s not fair,” Jemma chirps and Skye looks at her sadly.

“…I know. I know. I’m just. Fuck,” she sighs.

 

\-------

 

Skye’s next move is to go on something resembling a real date with him. It’s probably not the best idea. But whatever. She’s paying for her time with him, they can spend it however they want right?

She invites him out to the bar that she and Fitz were at when they made this godforsaken dare. She tells him that she figures he can meet Fitzsimmons and they can knock back a few good cocktails before heading back to her place for a nightcap.

He shows up while she and Fitz are already at the bar. Jemma slipped away to the little girls room for a moment. Grant smiles awkwardly at Fitz, who grins and claps him on the shoulder.

“Good to see you again Grant!” He grins and knocks back his whiskey. Grant smiles, uncomfortably.

“You too Fitz. Hello Skye,” he says, turning his attention to her. He leans down and kisses her cheek and she positively feels giddy. She has no idea what is happening to her. “So where’s this Simmons I’ve heard so much about?”

“Here I am!” A tiny voice comes from behind Grant’s giant figure and Jemma worms her way around him and back onto her seat next to Fitz. She extends her hand to Grant. “Lovely to finally meet you Grant!”

He looks shell-shocked. He takes her hand and shakes it, nodding politely. “Um…yes. You too…Simmons.”

“Please, call me Jemma,” she grins, brushing off any awkwardness in his reaction in an impressive display of diplomacy. “I think I need a refill.” As she turns away to talk to the bartender, Skye pulls on Grant’s arm.

“What the hell was that?” She asks.

“I thought…you’d never said her first name before, you’d never even used a gendered pronoun before I thought…” he stammers, running a hand through his hair. Skye’s eyes go wide.

“You thought Simmons was a dude?” She says a little too loudly. Fitz turns to them, frowning.

“You thought I was gay?” He asks, indignantly.

“You touched my biceps and stared at my abs,” Grant looks at him dryly. Fitz looks like he’s about to protest but then he just shrugs and nods.

“Fair enough. Well I’m not. This is my girlfriend. My girlfriend Jemma Simmons,” he says, like the privilege of calling her his girlfriend is his greatest achievement in life.

Skye laughs so hard she gets a stitch in her side and Grant looks embarrassed for quite a while afterwards. But the drinks are flowing and soon enough they’re all laughing and singing along to songs on the jukebox.

“Ya know Grant, you’re not so bad,” Fitz slurs, clapping him on the shoulder again. Grant takes it better this time, a little intoxicated himself.

“You too Fitz.” Skye can’t help but beam at them getting along. So it’s not just her trapped in a little bubble of hotel rooms and great sex. Grant really is a good guy; he really is genuinely charming and funny. It’s comforting. And also makes everything that much worse.

Fitzsimmons leaves not long after that, because Jemma completely loses her ability to keep her hands to herself when she’s drunk and Fitz seems fully intent to capitalize on that fact. It leaves Skye alone with Grant at the bar.

Skye knocks back another drink and the room is spinning. She loses her balance a little, and Grant is quick to put a hand on the small of her back to steady her. “I think it might be time to get you home. She giggles and nods.

They catch a cab back to her place and she keeps groping him. He kisses her a few times, gently and slowly, but doesn’t let things go any farther than that. She pouts at him. “Later.” He says, but she thinks its mostly to appease her.

Later comes and she stumbles into her bedroom, kicking off her heels and trying to unzip her dress unsuccessfully. Grant chuckles and unzips it for her. It pools on the floor by her feet.

Skye lets herself flop down on the bed, and looks at Grant with what she hopes is a ‘come hither’ expression. She might just look half asleep. It’s hard to tell.

Instead of ravishing her though, he tucks her into bed and kisses her forehead. “Sleep it off. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

She frowns. “Hey I didn’t know there was a sobriety clause. You’re just supposed to fuck me.” His smile falters a little and he stands up. She knows she should stop herself but she can’t.

“Skye, you’re wasted. You’re not in your right mind.” He says, unhelpfully, while still remaining fully clothed. He’s trying to be chivalrous. Gentlemanly. He’s so goddamn fucking nice all the time.

“So? Shouldn’t matter. This is what I want. I mean that’s the policy right? That’s what I paid for.” He frowns and shakes his head.

“You don’t mean that…” he says softly. She doesn’t. At least she thinks she doesn’t. But he’s annoying her.

“If you can use it against me, then I can use it against you,” she slurs instead, pouting at him.

“Yeah I guess you’re right.” But he doesn’t move to leave. He just looks at her, with those stupid puppy dog eyes that make it really hard to be mad at him.

“I really like you,” she mumbles, closing her eyes so she doesn’t have to look at that stupid expression anymore. “I really like you but can’t like you. I’m not allowed to.” She can still feel his presence next to her bed and she opens one eye.

He’s still standing there and his expression is hard to read. But he’s frozen in place like he can’t decide what he’s supposed to do. He takes a breath and scrubs his hand through his hair.

“Skye it’s just...complicated,” he says finally. She opens both eyes to look at him, blinking a few times to put him in focus.

“Is it really?” He looks taken aback. He sighs and turns towards the door.

“Get some sleep.” He says from the doorway.

Skye huffs out a breath and rolls over, pulling the covers up to her chin, suddenly feeling exposed.

 

\-------

 

He calls her three days later. It’s been excruciating, waiting to hear from him. She was too embarrassed from her drunken rambling to call herself. She was fully prepared to never hear from him again.

“Hey…”

“Hey…” Silence.

“How are you?”

“Good.” More silence. “Listen I’m sorry about what I said…”

“Hey it’s…you were right. I let things get messy. It was unprofessional,” he says, his tone unreadable.

“It was still shitty of me.” Skye bites her lip and waits for his response.

“Well I was shitty to. So I want to…make up for it.” He sounds nervous. “I was wondering if…I have the night off so I thought maybe we…it could just be coffee or something.” He clears his throat. Skye will always be mystified by how anyone who did what he did could possibly be so awkward. “Do you want to hang out tonight? Like…like a real date.”

Skye resists jumping up and punching the air. She keeps her tone cool and collected.

“Yeah. I’d like that.”

He rings the doorbell promptly at 8pm. Skye’s heart is hammering and she’s suddenly nervous all over again like she’s meeting him for the first time.

When she opens it, he’s wearing a tight black tshirt and jeans. “I see you got all dressed up for me,” she teases. She isn’t exactly dressed up either in jeans and a frilly blouse and her favorite boots.

He rolls his eyes and offers his hand. “Where we are going doesn’t have a dress code,” is all he says. She takes his hand and laughs, following him out to his car.

He takes her to a sports bar. The kind of gritty dirty sports bar with peanut shells on the floor and grease stains on all the tables. She looks at him raising an eyebrow and grinning. “This where you take all the girls you want to impress?”

“You said you were a pizza and beer girl.” He smiles shyly, but he looks nervous, like he’s not sure she approves. She honestly can’t believe he remembered that. Skye stands up on her tip toes and presses a soft kiss against his lips.

“I am. I’m also killer at darts, so expect me to be kicking your ass later.” She saunters away and over to the bar to order a drink. Grant followers her, nudging her shoulder with his.

“I can’t wait to see you try.”

They drink, they eat huge slices of pepperoni and sausage pizza. Grant turns out to be able to hold his own with the whole darts thing. It’s not all that different honestly, than what they were doing before. Except, he insists on paying this time. She’s glad to let him. She’s going to have to start saving up after all the money she already spent on him.

He was worth every penny.

 

[THE END]


End file.
